A Life in Exile

Do you find it hard to focus on your work, school, or family? I’ve written in the past about how easily distracted we can become by all the notifications on our screens and noise of this world. Though I think I know better, I realized that a recent change in the weather had me scrambling to settle down. I started doing things I’d never done in my life of living in Middle Tennessee.

It all started with some suggestions on my Instagram feed—of course. I threw a tarp over my back steps and one by my garage door (actually a great suggestion), and I froze a big thing of water in my freezer, just in case the electricity goes out (didn’t have to use that one, thank goodness), and I left my cabinets open and dripped my faucets. I was ready for whatever came.

Be prepared, not scared

Those bitter temps did come, and the snow and ice came too. In the end, I was glad I had been prepared, but something was bothering me. Was my preparation out of wisdom or fear?

As I watched for the winter apocalypse, my mind was also occupied by another completely different kind of disaster—potential war with Iran. After living in the Middle East for over twenty years, I cannot help but continue to follow the news of the area, as I know it affects people I love and global events. So, here I sat, checking the local weather, preparing to hunker down for the duration, and trying to keep up with news in a country that had an internet blackout.

As a Christ-follower, God’s Word is clear about the world in which we live. It’s affected by that original sin in the Garden. Nothing will ever be the same in the lives of men or in the created works of heaven and earth. There will be hate, wars, and animosity between peoples. There will also be storms, hurricanes, ice, earthquakes, and eruptions of volcanoes. The beauty of the good has been marred by the effects of sin.

So, do we take cover, seek peace, and pray for the storms to subside? Absolutely. But we do it in recognition of a current reality, not a future hope. What does that mean? We prepare when we see the signs of trouble approaching, but not in fear. Why? Because God is near, even in the storms.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV)

Keep your mind on the Rock

Turning off the notifications on my phone has been the best decision of my life. It keeps me from unnecessary distractions that only serve to increase anxiety and worry. I think about Peter, as he took a step of faith toward the voice of his Rabbi, and found the water holding him up. Oh, the things we can experience when our confidence is in Jesus! Those first few steps toward his Master must have been amazing, increasing his confidence and faith, but then, water sprays him in the face—a distraction—and he turns to look at the reality of his current circumstance. Wow, what a storm he was walking through!

If he had held that thought and turned back to Jesus, he would have been able to say, “Lord, you’re enabling me to stand and walk in the midst of this crazy storm! Thank you for your power and work in my life.” But that’s not what happened, is it? No, he kept his gaze on the storm, saw its power as more than that of the One enabling him to walk on water, and then felt himself starting to sink below the depths.

Thankfully, he had enough of his wits about him to cry out, “Lord, save me” (Matt. 14.30), and of course, his gracious Rabbi did. Holding on tight to the storm-tossed fisherman, Jesus questions him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:30).

When we look at the storms of this life and think they are stronger than the Lord of All Creation, our faith is small. We go from being prepared for trials and storms to being fearful of them.

Isaiah’s confidence in God

This twenty-sixth chapter of Isaiah is a song of praise, though it does not deny that evil is actively at work in our world. Ponder these verses as you consider your mindset in the face of natural and manmade disasters, the storms and trials of this day. May they turn you to the Lord and remind you that even the smallest amount of faith in the Lord is sufficient, because He is sufficient.

My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. (Isaiah 26:9-12)

Though Israel did not learn this lesson well, this is still God’s message to us today:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

As I’ve repented for my fearfulness in these last weeks, God has given me rest. If fear has replaced trust in your heart, I pray you will give it to the Lord and be strengthened by the rest only He can provide.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these posts on fear and distractions: Wisdom Is Calling: Are We Listening?, Compelled, Distracted, Standing Firm, Distractions, Marked Safe, and Coming Through the Trial.